Have a tale about love and automobiles? Debra Galant has launched a contest on Facebook to promote her upcoming novel, Cars from a Marriage (St. Martin's, April 27). People are sharing true stories of romance, revenge, road trips and more for a chance to win an iPod Nano.
The winner will be "determined totally subjectively," according to the contest rules. One of Galant's favorite stories so far is from a scorned wife who piled mud on the driver's seat of her philandering spouse's beloved BMW--and then had to clean it up because her own car wouldn't start and she had to borrow his.
The idea for a contest came about while Galant was speaking with David Henry Sterry for a new edition of his book Putting Your Passion into Print. After the interview, "I turned the tables and asked him to give me some marketing advice," Galant said. Sterry suggested a contest, which Galant is promoting primarily through Facebook. So far more than 50 people have touted it on their own pages and posted a link to the "Cars from a Marriage" contest page. There is also an ad on Facebook and on Galant's blog at www.Baristanet.com, as well as a feature on the home page of her own website. This past weekend, she handed out cards featuring the book and contest at the New York International Auto Show in Manhattan.
Galant has her own real-life auto tale to tell. Inspiration for Cars from a Marriage came during a couples counseling session. Throughout the years, her father had given her and her husband used luxury cars when he was ready to upgrade. Despite being offered a hand-me-down Mercedes, Galant's husband decided that this time he wanted to select his own car instead (which he did, a Subaru). "As we discussed this, we realized that our whole marriage could be told through car stories," said Galant. "That became the motif and structure for the book."
The Cars from a Marriage contest is open until April 27. Click here to read the entries.--Shannon McKenna Schmidt